The State of Contemporary Eschatology and Its Relation to Secular Wisdom

Michael Root

Catholic University of America

Contemporary discussions of eschatology—Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox—tend to be fragmented linguistically, culturally, and in terms of interest. To a degree, this fragmentation reflects the general state of contemporary theology, but the wide range of specific questions that arise in relation to eschatology also plays a role. This presentation will survey some contemporary and recent options in eschatology, with particular interest in how the theological and philosophical orientations chosen lead to different sorts of engagement with secular, non-theological knowledge and wisdom, particularly in sciences such as cosmology. 

Michael Root is Ordinary Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America. A native of Norfolk, Virginia.  he studied at Dartmouth College and Yale University. He earlier taught at Davidson College, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.  For ten years, he was Research Professor at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France. He was on the drafting team for the Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, and for the US Episcopal-Lutheran full common agreement Called to Common Mission. He is the author of many scholarly articles and has translated and edited several books.  A Lutheran for much of his career, he was received into the Catholic Church in 2010.